Just six months after opening Dirty Water in Mid-Market, beverage connoisseur Kristian Cosentino (formerly general manager of Press Club) is already prepared to tackle a new neighborhood. This time, he's set his sights on Polk Gulch, an area that lacks "incredible cocktail places," he says. 

"I want to change that," Cosentino told us, as he described his next venture, Rusted Mule. It's slated to open by the end of February at 1217 Sutter St., the former Sudachi Sushi space.

While he wasn't originally attracted to the  neighborhood, he stumbled upon the opportunity to acquire the space and its liquor license for a steal, he says, and quickly convinced Ashley Miller—formerly Alta CA's bar manager and Eater's 2014 Bartender of the Year, and Richard Vila—owner of Poquito in the Dogpatch—to join him.

Rusted Mule will be a high-end cocktail lounge with 124 seats, and will aim to "show people what a real cocktail tastes like," Cosentino says. There will be a kitchen and light fare, but the focus will remain on the drinks—which, like Dirty Water, are central to the bar's name. The term "three rusted mules" stands for the "three browns," Cosentino explained: bourbon, brandy and rum.

As for the space, "it's got to be one of the coolest spots I've ever seen," he says. While tearing out the old interior, Cosentino's team not only uncovered original brick walls, but also a trap door in the ceiling that leads to a lofted one-bedroom apartment. Given the pennies from the '50s on the bathroom sink, it had likely been hidden for more than half a century—and with train tracks in the back alley, it had to have been home to something illegal, Cosentino assumes. 

All of the sushi restaurant's trappings have been torn out, to be replaced with a softer version of the steampunk vibe, using elements like leather, copper, iron and steel. But Cosentino is leaning toward leaving his new finds as-is.

The buildout is set to begin in two weeks, and the doors to Rusted Mule should open in late February.